Director brings the Fed to film

Make the Federal Reserve entertaining enough for the big screen? Sounds like a tall task. But Jim Bruce is up to it. His directorial debut, “Money for Nothing,” takes a close look at one of the most mysterious financial institutions around. It wasn’t a walk in the park, however, making monetary policy movie friendly.

“It’s not an easy process making a film about the central bank, which most people are either unaware of or don’t understand much at all,” Bruce told POLITICO. “It is a challenge to make something that the average person could understand and enjoy. But I think that was also the opportunity we saw with this film. It’s such an influential organization and it’s had such an impact on people’s lives.”

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The film is narrated by actor Liev Schreiber and features interviews with such notables as former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and one of the candidates currently under consideration to replace Ben Bernanke: Janet Yellen. Bruce supports her candidacy - with caveats.

“I have huge respect for her as a leader and a public servant and I think she has the integrity and all the characteristics you want for the person in the job,” said Bruce. “I think the broader question, to me, is you want someone who has new ideas. I think Janet has shown that she’s capable of evolving her thinking, and she’s not someone who’s going to be rigid or ideological like Alan Greenspan, for example, which I think is hugely important. But I think she’s someone who also believes in continuing current policies, so on that point, we disagree.”

(Lawrence Summers is the other candidate under consideration for the Fed and has the inside edge, according to some reports.)

The film’s message is not an entirely optimistic one.

“I felt like there was a story that needed to be told, that this instution, that was an instrument in creating recent financial problems, played a huge role in ‘stopping’ it, but the question is, has the Fed just postponed adjustments that need to happen in our economy? And have they really fixed the problem? Or have they just thrown money at the banks and bought some time and propped up the stock market. We may not be out of the woods yet.”

“Money for Nothing” opens September 13 at New York City’s Quad Cinema and at Washington, D.C.’s Landmark E Street Cinema.